KABUL, Afghanistan - Four international troops were killed by a bomb early Sunday in southern Afghanistan, officials said, the latest deaths in the 12-year war. Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the governor of southern Kandahar province, said the deaths occurred when a NATO patrol was on foot as part of a joint operation with the Afghan army and a bomb detonated in the Zhari district around 3 a.m. NATO didn't release the nationalities in line with...

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Taliban claimed responsibility Sunday for a bombing in southern Afghanistan that killed four members of a NATO patrol, reportedly Americans, on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion. Ahmad Javid Faisal, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province, said the deaths occurred when the international patrol was on foot as part of a joint operation with the Afghan army and a bomb detonated around 3 a.m. In line with its policy, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization didn't release the nationalities, but Faisal said they were Americans.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan officials said Sunday that a NATO air strike in the eastern part of the country killed 16 people, including 11 civilians, a version countered by the international coalition, which said in a statement its attack killed 10 militants with no reported civilian casualties. Civilian deaths and injuries at the hands of foreign troops remain a highly sensitive political issue in Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai in February banned Afghan security forces from calling in air strikes in residential areas after 10 civilians were allegedly killed in a NATO night attack in Kunar.

LONDON - NATO on Wednesday called the Syrian regime's alleged use of chemical weapons against rebel strongholds a “clear breach” of international norms that “cannot go unanswered.” “Those responsible must be held accountable,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said after a meeting of alliance members in Brussels. He added that “information available from a wide variety of sources” strongly suggested the culpability of Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in the “horrific use” of chemical agents in an attack on rebel strongholds outside Damascus last week.

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO forces were struck by three attacks within 24 hours across Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday, as the Taliban redoubled efforts to drive foreign combat troops out of the country ahead of their planned withdrawal at the end of 2014. In recent months, NATO forces have seen fewer fatalities as more of foreign troops withdraw, they take fewer risks and Afghan forces assume more responsibility for the country's security. But analysts say militants continue to view attacks on international coalition troops as their most effective path to power.

NEW DELHI - Three NATO soldiers were killed Sunday in an attack by militants in eastern Afghanistan, the international coalition said. The soldiers, whose nationalities were not immediately available in line with policy, were killed in eastern Paktia province bordering Pakistan, the alliance said in a statement, blaming “enemies of Afghanistan.” The violence came amid reports that at least 22 Afghans were killed by flooding near Kabul, the...

June 18, 2013 | By Hashmat Baktash and Mark Magnier, This post has been corrected. See the note below for details

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An hour before NATO transferred formal responsibility for the nation's security to Afghan forces, a large bomb targeting a minority lawmaker exploded in western Kabul on Tuesday morning, killing three civilians and wounding more than a dozen others, police said. The intended target, Mohammad Mohaqiq, a prominent lawmaker and former Cabinet member from the minority Hazara community, survived the attack but at least four bodyguards in his convoy were wounded, said Gen. Mohammad Daud Amin, Kabul's deputy police chief.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents attacked the military side of Kabul's international airport at dawn Monday, jarring residents of the Afghan capital awake to the sound of explosions and gunfire. The area houses a key NATO strategic headquarters, but that part of the complex reportedly was not breached. The attack began around 4:20 a.m., just before sunrise in Kabul, with those living in the neighborhood reporting several blasts that sounded like rocket-propelled grenades, followed by automatic gunfire.

BRUSSELS - Germany and Italy have committed to join the United States in helping to train Afghan troops after combat operations cease at the end of next year, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday. Absent from the announcement was reference to the closest U.S. ally, Britain, which has been the second-largest source of troops in the 11-year Afghanistan war. Britain is expected to contribute to the training and mentoring, but has not yet pledged a specific role in what promises to be a dramatically reduced international mission 18 months from now. Germany will take the lead in the north of Afghanistan and Italy in the west, diplomats said after a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense ministers in Brussels, while Hagel said Turkey is considering becoming the lead nation in the capital, Kabul.